The awards are given each year to honour the work of people who have contributed to a ‘fairer and more just society’.

Joint winner in the international category is the Indian Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) which has worked for more than 30 years to improve women’s working conditions in India.

SEWA represents more than 600,000 women through different trade cooperatives, ranging from agricultural workers to textile vendors and women working in the media.

It shares the prize with South African AIDS campaigner Zackie Achmat, who is also HIV positive.

Achmat has been one of the most vocal critics of the South African government and drugs companies for what he views as their failure to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Nicolás Gutiérrez, president of the Basque Association for Cooperation, won the European Silver Rose award “in honour of the thousands of Basque citizens trying to carry on their daily lives under the threat from the Basque terror organization, ETA”.

He has been publicly threatened because of his beliefs and is thought to be one of the few NGO workers in Europe who needs a police escort to go to work every day.

Each received their awards at a ceremony at the European Parliament in Brussels last night (15 October).

Solidar is an international alliance of social NGOs and this is the fourth such annual awards.

Giampiero Alhadeff, Solidar’s secretary-general, said: “This year’s winners are ordinary people living extraordinary lives and they are an inspiration to us all.”

Presenting the awards, Social Affairs Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou said: “NGOs are the lifeblood of any society, often giving a voice to those who have none and reminding governments of the issues that matter to our citizens.”